Butt-cutter.



I. JANBS &'A. A. LANAUX.

BUTT CUTTER APPLICATION FILED A1R.22,1908.

Patented-Feb. 16, 1909.

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T w ami: L as! I. JANES & A. A. LANAUX BUTT CUTTER. v APIPLIOATION IILBDAPR.22,1908.

' 912,850, Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

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a and 2 of the frame.

UlYITE STARS FATENI UIFIFIQE.

JANES AND ALFRED A. LANAUX, OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-FOURTHT0 WILLIAM P. H. MCFADDIN AND ONE-FOURTH TO WILLIAM G. JONES, OFBEAUMONT,

TEXAS.

BUTT-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

Application filed. April 22, 1908. Serial No. 128,559.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Ivnr JANES and ALFRED A. LANAUX, citizens of theUnited States, residing at beaumont, in the county of Jefferson andState of lexas, have in vented new and useful Improvements inButt-Outters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to butt cutters, the object of the inventionbeing to provide a power driven machine designed to cut oil the buttends of sheaves of cereals where the straw has become wet or muddy byreason of standing in the fields. 'lhis 18 especially important in riceharvesting where wet and muddy butts have to be contended with to a verylarge extent, it being practically impossible to thresh out rice when inthe condition referred to without great deterioration of the quality ofthe product. v'there the butts have become wet and muddy, when theyfinally dry, the mud breaks on in particles and follows the grainthrough the threshers greatly deteriorating the value and quality of theproduct. By the use of the butt cutter hereinafter described, the headsof the sheaves are severed from the damaged straw thereby maintainingthe quality of the product which could not otherwise be done.

The machine hereinafter described is light and compact, requiring aminimum amount of power to drive the same and may be mounted on asuitable transporting truck so that it may be readily conveyed to andfrom the point of use.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will morefully appear as the descri tion proceeds, the invention consists. in t enovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fullydescribed, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :F igure 1 is a side elevation of a buttcutter embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is an end view of thesame.

The machine contemplated in this invention comprises a suitablesupporting frame which is shown as composed of a base 1 and superposedmember 2 and supporting legs or standards 3 connecting the members 1frame by means of brackets 4 is a table 5 above which operates the topruns of the Supported upon said gendless carrier or drag, hereinafterfully described.

i 'lhe element which performs the cutting operation is illustrated at 6where it is shown in the form of a rotary saw. It will be understood,however, that the rotary cutter 6 may consist of a very thin bladehaving appropriately thin teeth and eonstituting in effect a rotaryknife or blade. 'lhis rotary cutter is mounted upon a suitable arbor 7journaled in bearings on the frame and provided with a pulley S fromwhich a driving belt 9 extends around a larger pulley 1O journaled onone of the standards 3 of the frame.

The endless carrier comprises parallel chains 11 which run over sprocketwheels 12 and 13 mounted on shafts 14 and 15 respectively, journaled in.bearings at opposite ends of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1. Two pairs orsets of chains are employed as shown in Fig. 2, one set at each side ofthe rotary cutter 6 and the chains of each pair are connected by crossbars 16 provided with outwardly extending teeth 17 forming shoulderswhich engage behind the shocks and force the latter onward to the actionof the rotary cutter. The endless carrier or drag, as a whole, is thuscomposed of two sections moving in unison and arranged at opposite sidesof the rotary cutter so as to straddle said cutter and motion isimparted to the endless carrier or drag by a pulley 18 mounted fast onthe shaft 15 of the cutter sprocket wheels 13 located in rear of therotary cutter 6 so that the top run of the chains are drawn past thecutter thus past the cutter. A driving belt 19 passes from the pulley 18around a driving pulley 20 on a shaft 21 having fast thereon a spur gearwheel 22 which meshes with a pinion 23 on the shaft 24 of the wheel 10above referred to.

In order to insure the feeding of the sheaves to the rotary cutter, weprovide a sleeve adjusting feeder consisting of oppositely locatedwheels 25 having teeth 26 projecting from theouter periphery thereof asbest shown in Fig. 1, the said wheels 5 being mounted on a common shaft27 so as to straddle the rotary cutter 6, as shown in Fig. 2. The shaft27 is carried by oppoi sitely arranged swinging arms 28 which, at

their upper ends, are mounted on a superimposed cross shaft 29 journaledin bearings 30 at the upper ends of a pair of oppositely arrangedstandards 31 extending upward from the main frame of the machinehereinabove described. The arms 28 are adapted to swing by gravity so asto cause the teeth 26 of the wheels 25 to engage the shocks just as theyare brought into contact with y the rotary cutter. Rotary motion isimparted to the wheels 25 by providing the shaft 27 with a belt pulleybelt 33 extends around another pulley 34 on the shaft 29. in the sameshaft 29 and at or near one end thereof is arranged another pulley 35from which a belt 36 extends around another pulley 87 fast on a shaft 38upon which is also fixed a spur gea wheel 39 which meshes with the wneel22 above referred to.

By means of the arrangement above described, it will be seen that thearms 28 and the rotary feeding wheels 25 are adapted to swing upward anddownward without interfering with the driving mechanism which impartsrotary motion to said wheels. Thus the feeding wheels are adapted toadjust themselves readily by gravity to the sheaves, irrespective of thesizes and shapes of the sheaves and to press the sheaves downwardagainst the top runs of the endless drags or carriers just as thesheaves are subjected to the action of the rotary cutter.

from which a I The shaft 14 may be mounted in slides 40 adjustablysecured to the main frame of the machine by providing said slides with journal slots ll through which pass clamping bolts or screws 32 insertedin the main frame as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. This provides foradjusting the sprocket wheels 12 outward and inward to produce therequired tension of the endless carrier or drag to obtain the bestresults.

"Ne claim:

A butt cutter comprising a main frame, a table supported thereon, arotary cutter, an endless carrier arranged to straddle the cutter andembodying shock feeding teeth, standards extending upward from the mainframe, a shaft journaled on said standards above the table, aself-adjusting depressor mounted on said shaft and operating in pr:rimity to the cutter and comprising a pendent swing frame, toothedcircular rotary feeders carried by said swing frame and arranged atopposite sides of the cutter, and means on saic frame for impartingmotion to said rotary feeders irrespective of the inclination of theswing frame.

in testimony whereof We afliX our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

IVEY JAN-ES. ALFRED A. LANAUX.

Witnesses W. v V. MoFADDrN, Giro. Lorna.

